The parents of a Milwaukee 9-year-old girl are suing the social media platform TikTok after their daughter accidentally hanged herself while doing a “Blackout Challenge” shown on the app.

Arriani Jaileen Arroyo was found hanging, by her father, in February 2021.

Arriani got her first phone at age of seven and soon signed up for TikTok. She enjoyed watching dancing videos and made her own videos. She eventually discovered the Challenge Videos, which she showed to her parents. Many seemed harmless and her parents were not concerned. Then she discovered the “Blackout Challenge.”

The lawsuit also tells the tragic story of an 8-year-old girl, Lalani Erika Renee Walton of Temple, Texas, who strangled herself after watching the challenge, last July. 

Lalani and her stepmother was planning to go swimming. While her stepmother went to get ready, she left Lalani in her room. When she returned to the girl’s room, she found her hanging from her bed with a rope around her neck.

Police determined Lalani died from self-asphyxiation as a direct result of attempting TikTok’s “Blackout Challenge.” 

The lawsuit accuses TikTok of using a computer algorithm that causes the Blackout Challenge videos to appear on the young people’s pages based on their likes.

Many of TitTok’s users are young teens, and it markets to children under 13, according to the lawsuit’s claims. 

The Blackout Challenge videos show people who purposefully strangle themselves until losing consciousness. 

The lawsuit states that such videos are not appropriate for young children. 

Lalani and Arrani are not the only children to die while attempting the Blackout Challenge. Many other youngsters have also lost their lives while attempting it.

Attorney Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, says TikTok needs to be held accountable for pushing deadly content to the two young girls. 

A TikTok spokeswoman said the Blackout Challenge “long predates our platform” and would remove related content if found.

Dangerous online challenges are nothing new and have been rampant on the internet for years. Examples include challenges that involve swallowing Tide pods, consuming large amounts of Benadryl, or suddenly getting out of a moving car.

Social media sites like TikTok and Facebook promote content based on a user’s preferences, and children may be exposed to inappropriate content without parental controls. 

Parents should pay more attention to the content on their children’s phones.